Wine Not? An Plea for the Use of Wine in Communion

It is a curious thing to me how few churches use wine in Communion despite the fact that Jesus used it when he instituted the Supper. Part of the reason for this goes back to the peculiarly American-Christian aversion to alcohol that arose in the 19th century. Part of it is because of an unfamiliarity with Church history. What follows are quotes from significant Reformed and Baptist theologians. They show that the use of wine in Communion has long been the practice of the Church. (I am indebted to the work of RC Sproul and Keith A Mathison for many of these quotes.) John Calvin (1540) When we see wine set forth as a symbol of blood, we must reflect upon the benefits which wine imparts to the human body. We thus come to realize that these same benefits are imparted to us in a spiritual manner by the blood of Christ. These benefits are to nourish, refresh, strengthen and gladden. (Treatise on the Lord’s Supper; as quoted in Alister McGrath, Reformation Thought, p. 185) Robert Bruce (1589) Every ceremony which Christ instituted in the Supper is as essential as the bread and wine are, and you cannot leave out one jot of them without perverting the whole institution; for whatever Christ commanded to be done, whatever He spoke or did in that whole action, is essential, and must be done. (The Mystery of the Lord’s Supper; p. 43) In Baptism, the thing that represents Christ is water; in the Supper, the things that represent Christ are bread and wine. Water is appointed to represent Christ in Baptism, because it is most appropriate to represent our washing with the Blood of Christ... In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, He has appointed bread and wine, because there is nothing more appropriate to nourish the body than bread and wine. Thus the Lord has not chosen these signs without a reason. (Ibid., p. 76). Westminster Larger Catechism (1648) Question 168: What is the Lord’s Supper? (See also WSC 96.) Answer: The Lord’s supper is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, his death is shewed forth; and they that worthily communicate feed upon his body and blood, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace; have their union and communion with him confirmed; testify and renew their thankfulness, and engagement to God, and their mutual love and fellowship each with the other, as members of the same mystical body. Question 169: How hath Christ appointed bread and wine to be given and received in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper? Answer: Christ hath appointed the ministers of his word, in the administration of this sacrament of the Lord’s supper, to set apart the bread and wine from common use, by the word of institution, thanksgiving, and prayer; to take and break the bread, and to give both the bread and the wine to the communicants: who are, by the same appointment, to take and eat the bread, and to drink the wine, in thankful remembrance that the body of Christ was broken and given, and his blood shed, for them. Question 177: Wherein do the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper differ? Answer: The sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper differ, in that baptism is to be administered but once, with water, to be a sign and seal of our regeneration and ingrafting into Christ, and that even to infants; whereas the Lord’s supper is to be administered often, in the elements of bread and wine, to represent and exhibit Christ as spiritual nourishment to the soul, and to confirm our continuance and growth in him, and that only to such as are of years and ability to examine themselves. The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine. (Chap. 30, sect. 3) Jonathan Edwards (1746) Christ, by the speeches and actions of the minister, makes a solemn profession of his part in the covenant of grace: he exhibits the sacrifice of his body broken and his blood shed; and in the minister’s offering the sacramental bread and wine to the communicants, Christ presents himself to the believing communicants, as their propitiation and bread of life; and by these outward signs confirms and seals his sincere engagements to be their Savior and food, and to impart to them all the benefits of his propitiation and salvation. The Works of Jonathan Edwards; Vol. I, p. 458) John Gill (1767-1770) The wine is another part of this ordinance, and of the matter of it, and one of the outward elements of it, a symbol of the blood of Christ...It is also a question, whether the wine used was mixed or pure; since it was usual with the Jews, whose wines were generous, to mix them, Prov. 9:2. But there is no need to dilute them in our climates; and as the quantity is so small drank at the ordinance, there is no danger of intoxication in those who are least used to it. (A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity; p. 918) John L. Dagg (1858) The Jewish ceremonies were typical of Christ to come; but the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ already come. It is, therefore, not included in the meat and drink intended by the apostle... Paul says, ‘Let no man judge you in meat or in drink.’ The abrogated ceremonies are now without divine authority; and, therefore, he calls these meats and drinks the commandments of men. But the bread and wine of the Supper, are commandments of the Lord. (Manual of Church Order; p. 208) In this, we have ascertained, that Christ designed a literal use of bread and wine, and, this point being ascertained, our duty is determined; whatever doubt and obscurity may remain respecting any other subject. (Ibid., p. 209) Southern Baptist Abstract of Principles (1859) The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ to be administered with the elements of bread and wine, and to be observed by His churches till the end of the world. A.A. Hodge (1860) What is the meaning of the term oinos, wine, in the New Testament, and how does it appear that wine and no other liquid must be used in the Lord’s Supper? It is evident from the usage of this word in the New Testament that it was designed by the sacred writers to designate the fermented juice of the grape - Matt. 9:17; John 2:3-10; Rom. 14:21; Eph. 5:18; 1 Tim. 3:8; 5:23; Titus 2:3. This is established by the unanimous testimony of all competent scholars and missionary residents in the East...That wine and no other liquid is to be used is clear from the record of the institution, Matt. 26:26-29, and from the usage of the apostles. (Outlines of Theology; p 633-634) Charles Hodge (1871-1873) By wine as prescribed to be used in this ordinance, is to be understood ‘the juice of the grape;’ and ‘the juice of the grape’ in that state which was, and is, in common use, and in the state in which it was known as wine. The wine of the Bible was a manufactured article. It was not the juice of the grape as it exists in the fruit, but that juice submitted to such a process of fermentation as secured its preservation and gave it the qualities ascribed to it in Scripture. That oinos in the Bible when unqualified by such terms as new, or sweet, means the fermented juice of the grape, is hardly an open question. It has never been questioned in the Church, if we except a few Christians of the present day.” (Systematic Theology; Vol. 3, p. 616) James Petigru Boyce (1887) Question: In what does this ordinance [The Lord’s Supper] consist? Answer: In eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Christ.” (A Brief Catechism of Bible Doctrine; In Abstract of Systematic Theology; p. xxiii) Baptist Faith and Message (1925) …the Lord’s Supper, in which the members of the church, by the use of bread and wine, commemorate the dying love of Christ. John Murray (1937-1966) They [the sacraments] are ordinances in which material elements and visible signs are used, in baptism water and washing with water, in the Lord’s supper bread and wine and the oral participation of these.” (Collected Writings; Vol. 2, p. 366) VALIDITY What is necessary to their administration? 1. The elements. 2. The actions. 3. Intention - of doing what Christ commanded (Collected Writings; Vol. 2, p. 369) Herman Hoeksema (1966) It is true that in the institution of the Lord’s Supper Jesus did not use the symbol of water, but that of wine. For this we can find two reasons. In the first place, wine is the color of blood, and the wine at the communion table is the sign of the blood of Jesus Christ. And, secondly, wine is a symbol of communion, of prosperity and joy, according to Scripture [Gen. 14:18; 27:27, 28; 49:10-12; Deut. 7:13; 33:28; Psalm 104:14, 15]. Wine is the symbol of heavenly joy, and therefore it was very fitting at the wedding of Cana that the heavenly bridegroom should change the water into wine. And thus we can understand that at the Lord’s Supper it is not water but wine that is used as the proper sign of the blood of the Lamb, by which not only our sin is changed into righteousness, but also our earthly life is translated into the joy of God’s heavenly tabernacle. (Reformed Dogmatics; p. 706-707) The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America The table, on which the elements are placed, being decently covered, and furnished with bread and wine, and the communicants orderly and gravely sitting around it (or in their seats before it), the Elders in a convenient place together, the Minister should then set the elements apart by prayer and thanksgiving” (58-5). Conclusion It is remarkable how much agreement there exists in historic Protestantism over the use of wine in the Sacrament. It was only during the rather legalistic Prohibition drives of the 18th and 19the centuries that the use of wine was discontinued in the American Church. If we believe that the element of water is critical in baptism, should we not also take seriously the biblical elements of bread and WINE?